2nd Rank Has Returned

3-week vacation-6

It was a strange feeling.

Obviously I couldn’t get up because I was tired, but I didn’t feel the pain.

Rather, it was to the extent that I felt comfortable and even happy to take a break from fatigue.

Leonardo felt it.

It was a bizarre expression, but now it can be said that the explanation is appropriate.

Even in the place where he was lying, the thing that covered his body, the temperature and even the air, it seemed that Leonardo could feel it.

“…Well…”

Unable to overcome that euphoria, Ariaspil began to slowly open his closed eyes.

When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling, and when I woke up, I felt a familiar smell.

At the contradictory harmony, Arya carefully got up from the bed and looked around. Old desks, shabby walls and wallpaper, and even faded curtains.

I thought they were all old, but paradoxically, I felt more comfortable than the family mansion.

Even though it was so old, it was a great help in leaving a positive evaluation that there was no dirt or grime.

As I was slowly examining the small house, I looked to the side and saw a gentle knight who created this comfort.

“…Leo…?”

It was Leonardo, leaning on a chair and dozing off. His attire was muddy, and his collar and sleeves were violently torn and rags.

The body covered in such a pitiful attire was even worse. From the palm of the hand to the fingers, all of them were torn to the point of callus, and there was only a bandage wrapped around the hand that had barely hardened the scab.

“…because of me…”

The moment he was about to wake Leo with apologetic feelings, there was a tray with a loaf of bread and a cup of milk on the side drawer. There was a small note written on the side of the tray.

[I’m sorry about the mayor’s job. I am a very inflexible person. When you wake up and feel hungry, have bread and milk. It won’t be as good as the family’s, but it will help with nutritional supplementation.]

Arya fell to Leo without saying a word. He must have been tired enough just by breaking the barrier, so it would have been better to let him sleep even a little.

Arya took the bread and milk and began to eat slowly. It certainly wasn’t as tasty as Leo said. The bread was crumbly and the milk was not sued.

Still, this tasted good.

Apart from being delicious, this food was good.

Arya listened carefully to Leo when she finished replenishing her nutrition. He had a heavy and solid body, but compared to the work his knight had done, this kind of consideration was insignificant.

The moment I carefully put Leo down on the bed,

profit

The old hinges of the door rang, and an old woman walked in.

“Leonardo, how is the child…”

Anus’ eyes were fixed on the bed. It was more important to watch the girl hugging and lifting a man rather than the bed.

“…”

“…ah…that’s…”

“Let me tell you later. I won’t stop you from doing it, but don’t forget about birth control.”

Saying that, Anus closed the door and tried to get out. Surprisingly, without panicking, Arya laid Leo on the bed and walked towards the door.

“it’s okay. You can talk now.”

“…I am not surprised. Are those words familiar?”

“…what word?”

Arya asked Anus as if puzzled. In response, Anus could immediately grasp the extent of Arya’s common sense.

“…without knowing that… did you come up with such a plan…”

“…yes?”

“No, nothing.”

Anus looked at Leo sleeping on the bed and turned his gaze to Arya again.

“I don’t care, can I go out and talk?”

Arya glanced at Leo who was sleeping, and then quietly nodded.

***

The night of Doron was quiet unlike the morning. The darkness that descended like a mist seemed to swallow up all the sounds around him.

Walking through the dark forest were two women on the path of old age and childhood.

While the dark silence was flowing, Anus gently pressed the staff he was holding onto the floor.

“…how is your body?”

Her question was firm but not firm. Even Arya, who was not familiar with her, could see the kindness hidden by her bluntness.

“…yes I’m okay. Thanks to…”

“You fell because of me. It’s probably thanks to Leo.”

Arya had a sullen expression on her face, but she didn’t even bother to correct it. It wasn’t that he was angry, but it wasn’t that he had forgiven everything Anus had said.

“Do you hate me?”

Perhaps he had noticed the sediment, the old man without hesitation approached Arya’s heart with his dirt feet.

“…yes?”

“If you hate it, you hate it, and if you don’t hate it, I want you to hate it even now. It’s easier for young people to die quickly for an old man like this.”

Arya hesitated about what to bring out at the self-help remarks. It was hard to even think of words to sympathize with or wrap around him.

“…that’s…”

“…and I’m sorry. Actually, the apology will come first.”

As if to apologize for even giving such hesitation, Anus bowed his head and waist to Aria and apologized.

Arya couldn’t help but feel even more confused by that reaction.

“…ah…”

“I promised. If I lose, I will cancel what I said and apologize.”

Anus raised his head and looked into Arya’s eyes.

“sorry. He took your heart lightly and despised his relationship with Leo. Apologize later.”

Anus bowed his head and waist again.

Maybe it’s because he used only harsh words, that apology had a different weight to other people’s apologies.

“Ah… no…! I suddenly said something like that…! The guardian, Mr. Anus, is only going to get angry…!”

Feeling the deep weight of such an apology, Arya tried to get Anus’ apology in a hurry. In fact, it was she who actually raised Leo, so Arya had no choice but to think more about her face.

“…a guardian… that’s definitely true. I’m not Leonardo’s parents either, so I don’t have the right to interfere in your relationship if you think about it.”

Arya’s eyes trembled at the self-helpful remarks that followed. In the first place, Arya felt her conscience stabbed with guilt because she was not even married, nor was she a lover.

“…I… that… actually…”

“I called you here to tell you about Leonardo as a child.”

Arya, who was about to confess the truth to those words, shut her mouth.

“Perhaps the wooden stone won’t answer a single question even if I ask, so in this case, the old man with a lot of old age must act.”

Leonardo’s past.

It was something that had to be heard, even if it was crushed by guilt.

It wasn’t just curiosity.

The air of this forest, Anus’ sincerity, instilled in Arya the determination to deceive and listen.

“Did you hear about Leo’s mother?”

Arya nodded and answered.

“Yes, Leo died when he was 10…”

“…Go back, that’s what Leo must have said.”

Anus laughed bitterly. If you don’t laugh, the bitter taste of the story will remain on your lips more deeply.

“Do you know why Leo left town?”

Arya didn’t answer. you won’t be able to

Unless he made up what he didn’t know, there was no way he could give an answer.

Come to think of it, Leonardo never talked about himself. In particular, he hid and concealed his past more thoroughly.

“I don’t know. Leo is that kind of kid.”

Anus walked to the gloomy part of the forest. It was dark, but somehow I didn’t feel the fear of the dark.

People were more comfortable in the shallow shade than in the bright, scorching sun.

“Leo left the village to find his mother. To find my mother, who disappeared when I was 10.”

“But… obviously Leo…”

He said he thought his mother was dead because he hadn’t returned for three months.

Arya soon realized the true meaning of Anus’ words.

That’s just ‘I said so’.

“Leonardo came to this town before he was a year old.”

For Anus, that day was as vivid as last night. Oddly enough, the older the body, the easier it is to retrieve old memories than in younger enemies.

On a day when it rained, even the spirits of water were afraid of the bitter rain and fled the night.

There was a fool who walked through the heavy rain.

Although it was enough to be someone’s mother, she was a woman who seemed a little short of being a good mother.

It was the seal of that judgment that I went through this heavy rain alone without a husband, carrying the baby on my chest.

“That was Leo’s mother, Ren.”

Ren came to the village so suddenly and asked for a house to live in.

“…Yes? Wasn’t this home?”

“It may be home to Leo, but not Ren.”

Ren was just a stranger who happened to stay in the village a few times, not from the village.

“Anyway, I’ve been protecting the village a few times before, so I gave up an empty house nearby. It was a waste to use it as a warehouse, so I thought it would be better.”

While complaining, Anus gave him a place to live, light food, and money.

Still, I asked what happened to the baby, but Ren didn’t answer, as if he had been cursed with silence.

“So Leo doesn’t know his father. We don’t even know Leo’s father.”

At that time, I remembered the self-introduction that Leo had made.

‘So I’m just Leonardo. Don’t vomit unless you’re going to make an abby that doesn’t exist.’

At that time, it was ignored.

Because Leo himself spoke lightly.

But it won’t take long for the weight to appear light, she guessed.

“Leo was an odd kid.”

“…in a good way?”

“It was neither good nor bad. If I had to add… it was a pity.”

Leonardo didn’t want anything.

As there is madness in desire. There was madness even in ignorance.

It was like the good boy in Santa’s Carols.

“I didn’t cry, I didn’t get annoyed. I wasn’t even kidding.”

He could not have thought that he was the same person as the current Leonardo.

Even if it was crying, I couldn’t even imagine that there was no irritation or pranks.

“Everyone in the village was concerned. It was comfortable to simply feed and put to sleep, but that’s not different from raising a child, it’s just like feeding and putting livestock to sleep.”

It was an extreme metaphor, but it was still vivid to Anus. At that time, the boy was not dead, and he could not use the expression that he was alive.

“Still, we weren’t too worried. Because to my mother, she was quite human.”

When he was with Ren, Leo would laugh together, show cute annoyances, and sometimes play pranks that would make everyone in the village laugh.

“…but Leo’s mother…”

“Yeah, by the time I was 10, it completely disappeared.”

It was after that.

It was Leo who realized indifference beyond indifference.

“At least the guy who used to laugh has lost even that.”

The boy had lost hope and became indifferent to everything.

About a month later, Leonardo was about to leave the village.

“I said it was boring in the village… but no one believed it. He must have gone to find my mother.”

Everyone thought Ren was dead.

Although Ren could not be a good mother, he did not appear to be a rotten great man enough to give up his motherhood.

“To stop Leo like that, Dean stopped him. It was obvious what it would be like for a 10-year-old kid to go out like that.”

“…so you won.”

“No, I lost at first.”

Arya couldn’t help but panic.

It was Leo, who overpowered him without mana even on the first meeting. No matter how young such Leo was, it was not convincing to lose.

“And a month later, I beat Dean. Only one kid defeated a werewolf.”

It wasn’t just strength or skill that won. Rather, it was the opposite of Arya’s imagination.

“At first, the smell was disturbed by spraying animal blood here and there. After doing just such a check and attack, in the end, I broke the trees that had been cut in advance and caught Dean. It was far from fair.”

Still, no one caught Leo.

“…if I held on to it more than that, it seemed like the kid would really cross the line. As a child or as a person.”

So Leo went out of town.

No one knew the story behind the journey, but the scars left on her body after only three years were showing that the journey was by no means easy.

“That runaway kid sent me the first letter.”

Then Arya remembered. Leo’s letter that Dean showed me.

“At first I wondered what he meant. I wonder why such a doll-like child joined the knightly family, and why she feels so rewarding to serve a young lady.”

So the villagers put their heads together and the conclusion was simple.

“I thought Leo knew love too. Without it, people cannot change like that.”

Arya’s cheeks turned a little red. It’s certainly not impossible to mean that.

“And by the time I came a year ago, I was convinced.”

Perhaps, if you were close with Leo, you would know this.

“That Anne, she was nothing compared to a stone in love. I don’t know what love is.”

At those words, Arya became depressed again. However, her expression soon changed to a strangely bewildered expression.

“…why do you do that? Did you really think I thought you guys were lovers?”

Suddenly, the numbers came rushing in like typhoons and tsunamis. The freshly made hot black history was enough to heat up his face.

“The townspeople seem to be fooled, but I’m not that romantic… it’s harder to be fooled.”

“…sin…sorry…”

“Apple is fine. Rather, I should apologize for raising a child like a child.”

Anus grinned at the corners of his wrinkled lips. It wasn’t ridicule or ridicule, it was a smile of relief and reassurance.

“So I’m sorry, but can I ask for Leo like that?”

“…Yes Yes?”

Anus’ eyes were clear and his gaze was straight. Perhaps those eyes will come from pure sincerity without any emotions mixed in.

“I know that you are not dating or getting married. Still, I wanted to entrust my grandchildren to you.”

Anus ruffled Arya’s head. Even with his wrinkled hands, a gentle warmth permeated his hair.

“…but I’m better than Leo…”

“There is no need to protect Leo. I have never heard of a young lady guarding the knights.”

After a brief pause, Anus opened his mouth again.

“So, I want you to protect yourself. Please don’t die before Leo.”

Only then did Arya understand the test of Anus.

“You could do it.”

“But I…”

“I think it’s possible if you have the will to skip dating and get married… but did I think too hastily?”

At those words, Arya’s expression became completely ripe. Along with the loud laughter, Anus was satisfied with the girl’s heart.

“Good luck. So let’s go first. Thank you for taking the time to sleep.”

Arya couldn’t answer for a while, and was concentrating on cooling her red face.

***

“…I’ve been…”

Arya, who returned, stopped talking and looked towards the bed.

Perhaps it was because he was very tired, Leonardo was still lying in bed without getting up.

“It will be very difficult…”

Worried, Arya walked towards the bed Leo was lying on. Leo was exhaling a soft breath with a calm expression on his bed.

‘…the expressionless Leora…’

In fact, even now, I couldn’t believe the village chief’s words in many ways.

As Leo was always colorful, it must have been a part of what was even more difficult for Arya to imagine.

‘…but where am I…’

Arya looked around for a moment and realized one thing at that moment.

‘…this house…there is only one place to sleep.’

Usually there is one more sofa, but in this shabby house, there was only one bed. All that was left was the cold and hard hardwood floors.

…the sound of swallowing rang out.

Arya carefully picked up the blanket Leo had covered.

It was never like that.

It was force majeure, it was force majeure by anyone.

Leonardo must have been cold, and it was difficult for him to sleep on the floor.

Beneficial to each other, yes! It was mutually beneficial.

Even if you go into the duvet together, it’s okay if you stay apart.

No problem.

There was no need to get stabbed because the village chief also said he was asking for it.

“…under…”

But with a sigh, Arya eventually pulled her half-inserted body out of bed. Anyway, this wasn’t it. I’d rather sleep on the floor than my own conscience…

dump…

At that moment, Leo’s arm wrapped around Arya’s waist, which had come in about half way. It wasn’t intentional, it was just an accidental sleep talk.

“…Le…Leo…I…”

Arya was in an extreme mental conflict. Reason and instinct were in an extreme conflict, heightening Arya’s excitement.

“…sorry…”

At that moment, Leo spoke softly.

“…Leo…?”

“It’s wrong… don’t go… I’ll… do better…”

At that moment, reason and instinct became one.

Lying on the bed, Arya wrapped Leo in her arms.

It didn’t matter if it was a black heart or mutual benefit.

Read at readwn.com

Just

I wanted to give this boy ‘it’s okay’.